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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094095">We Don't Deserve Them (They're Perfect)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlNation/pseuds/queenqueenie'>queenqueenie (OwlNation)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, BAMF Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Chief Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Fluff, Gen, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III &amp; Toothless Friendship, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Needs a Hug, Post-How to Train Your Dragon 2, Pre-How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, THW is not canon, The salt of the Hidden World, can be interpreted as toothcup, canon is but a statement which I ignore, doesn't really appear though but it's there, hicctooth, tw for anxiety/panic attacks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:02:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,700</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094095</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OwlNation/pseuds/queenqueenie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Go, Toothless.” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>And Toothless flew away to catch up with his mate. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Hiccup woke up with a gasp. </i>
</p><p>In a world where the events of The Hidden World were a dream, Hiccup struggles to deal with the impacts: both on himself and on Berk. Thankfully for Hiccup, Toothless will always be there for him, no matter what.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III &amp; Toothless</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We Don't Deserve Them (They're Perfect)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this work is inspired by the amazing people on <i>The Salty Dragon Bar</i> :)</p><p>putting this here just in case but TW for anxiety/panic attacks</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>No. No, this can’t be happening.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the precipice of a life-changing decision, Hiccup stood, dumb-founded at the scene playing out in front of his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go, Toothless,” the Other Hiccup says mournfully, placing his hand on the Other Toothless’s snout briefly before drawing it away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please don’t leave me, Toothless.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Other Toothless extends his wings slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless, please don’t leave me alone. Together to the end, right? We promised!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a flap of his wings, the Other Toothless rises into the air and flies away to follow his mate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup wakes up with a gasp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Toothless!” Hiccup yelled, eyes roving around his room frantically before finding the Night Fury sprawled on his sleeping stone. The Night Fury grumbled for a brief second before shifting and going back to sleep. The sight reflexively makes Hiccup’s mouth twist into a grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His spirits lifted, Hiccup stealthily slips out of bed to get a glass of water, resolving to get back before his Night Fury brother notices his disappearance. He was almost about to brush off his dream as a simple nightmare…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until he saw the papers on his desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before he fell asleep last night, in an attempt to improve his flightsuit, he started sketching a prototype for dragon-scale armor. Though Hiccup knew the idea would probably be scrapped by his overprotective dragon brother, he decided to save the designs for later use.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The exact same armor that he saw at the beginning of his dream. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup crashed to the floor, knees slamming into the ground, hands tightly gripping onto his desk as the reality of the situation bore its way into his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>In less than a year, Berk will fall from grandeur to cowardice. In less than a year, Toothless and the other dragons will leave and go to this “Hidden World.” In less than a year, all my plans for dragon-human peace will all be for naught. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s all my fault. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhere deep inside his brain, Hiccup knows that the events that happened in his dream weren’t entirely his fault. Somewhere deep in his conscience, he knew that he would have eventually had to separate from Toothless when one of them moved on to Valhalla. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sadly, that part of his mind did not win the battle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup collapsed into his knees, trying with all his might to </span>
  <em>
    <span>just breathe through his nose</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His heartbeat was so loud he could feel it through his shaking fingers. Slowly, he placed his shaking fingers on the floor in an attempt to ground himself, the way his father taught him ages ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My dad. The courageous Stoick the Vast, killed by his beloved son’s best friend. Was that also my fault? If I had never left Berk after hearing about Drago, would my father have lived? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Another death caused by my mistakes,” Hiccup muttered darkly, hearing rather than feeling his heartbeat slow down. For a few minutes, he sat there, vision returning and body back to full health. Curling his head up from his knees, he placed his palms on the hard wooden floor and made to push himself up. Until he saw it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The walls of the Haddock House, the house of the chief and their family. Hiccup couldn’t stay here. He couldn’t stay where there were so many memories of his dad’s vast presence, so many memories of his repeated failures. He scurried over to Toothless’s stone slab, ready to wake up the dragon and escape to the skies, until he paused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of all the events that occurred during his sleep, Hiccup still remembered the look on Toothless’s face. The look of uncontainable joy at leaving him for the white Night Fury (</span>
  <em>
    <span>the Light Fury, his mind supplemented absentmindedly</span>
  </em>
  <span>) was practically burned into his brain. The way the white dragon gave the Night Fury the sheer happiness Hiccup couldn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, Hiccup felt his body shaking. His vision blurred until everything looked like a burst of colors, unable to differentiate one object from another. He felt himself stumble over his prosthetic leg, about to trip onto Toothless’s back, before he stopped himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pulling himself up, he berated himself, <em>Toothless</em></span>
  <em>
    <span> doesn’t need me anymore. I shouldn’t be selfish and hold him back! Toothless is strong, brave, and powerful, he doesn’t need a skinny, useless, one-legged human holding him back! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was getting harder to breathe. Quickly, Hiccup staggered down the stairs and threw open the door before running over to the cliff top overlooking the ocean. Some fresh air would help clear his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he briskly walked to the cliff, villagers stopped to wave at the new chief and offer words of encouragement. Hiccup couldn’t hear them. He walked to his destination like a man possessed, desperately looking for the answers he needed to seek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he was about to sit down on the grass overlooking the ocean, he stopped with a jolt, remembering more of his dream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless looked back at Hiccup for a brief second, externally looking sad but eyes glimmering with joy. Joy for a life free of </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Hiccup, </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>free of humans. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless nuzzled the Light Fury on the clifftop, ignoring his human who had another brush with death to pay attention to his mate. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless bid farewell to his human on a cliff top overlooking the ocean. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A clifftop</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Overlooking the ocean. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A clifftop like the one he’s sitting on now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup pushes himself up from the ground with a look of disgust. Unrestricted, tears flow from his eyes, staining the dirt below him. He’s shaking more than ever, from both the cold and his thoughts, but he doesn’t care. There was only one thing he was focused on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless doesn’t want me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless would rather spend his life with his one true love</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Over a life spent with me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup reached a hand out towards the rising sun, the light passing through his fingers and shining on his face. When he was younger, he dreamt of spending his life with Toothless, exploring the land beyond the Archipelago. He dreamt of experiencing adventures, earning victories, discovering new species, all with Toothless by his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew now that his ambitions were just figments of his imagination. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless knew something was up with his human. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rephrase that: Toothless </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew something was wrong with his human. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few weeks after the battle where he fought the evil man’s Bewilderbeast to save Hiccup, his human began to act weird. He always smelled nervous, even anxious when he was around me. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course he would, Toothless! He’s probably still nervous because of his sire’s death! </span>
  </em>
  <span>One part of his mind exclaimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the first day of this strange behavior, he might have believed that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it’s been two weeks, and Toothless knew something was up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His human was spending too much time at that melting-metal-place, often coming back with black shapes under his eyes. He spent days sitting on his log-perch (</span>
  <em>
    <span>chair, the humans called it</span>
  </em>
  <span>), drawing with his charcoal-stick. Somedays, his human spent so much time there, Toothless had to drag him to his bed and force him to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In normal circumstances, Toothless would brush this off as casual “Hiccup’s getting stressed” behavior and drag his human off to get his daily dose of cuddles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was the problem. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally, his Hiccup loved cuddling. Oftentimes, Toothless would find his human asleep in his paws after Toothless felt the need to tell the boy how much he loved him (</span>
  <em>
    <span>which happened every day, to be honest</span>
  </em>
  <span>). His Hiccup was too shy to ask for cuddles, but Toothless would always know whether his human needed them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, everything was different. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moon hung over the sky. Night had come to Berk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless scorched the ground of his stone slab, ready to have a good night’s sleep, when a half-asleep, tired Hiccup walked in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey bud, going to sleep?” Hiccup asked, stifling a yawn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless crooned affirmatively, studying his human with his powerful draconic eyes. His human appeared tired. The black marks were presenting themselves underneath his human’s eyes again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a second, Toothless contemplated shoving his human to the floor with a paw and bathing him in Night Fury saliva (</span>
  <em>
    <span>Night Fury saliva has healing properties, his human once said</span>
  </em>
  <span>), but he stopped for fear of damaging the boy. As Gobber, the one-arm-one-leg human, told him and the other dragons, “Humans treat other humans. Dragons treat other dragons. The two can’t mix, you hear me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless knew that. After all, he was a Night Fury, the smartest dragon to ever grace Midgard! But Toothless didn’t care. His Hiccup was hurting. His Hiccup needed Toothless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silently, Toothless raised a wing, gesturing with his head to the space under the limb. He was sure Hiccup would accept. After all, his human’s done it before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless began to curl his body on his slab in a way that his human would be comfortable and wouldn’t wake up in pain when his human opened his mouth and said, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No thanks, bud. I’ll sleep in my bed for today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless couldn’t believe what he was hearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Quickly, he pointed his head at Hiccup and back to his extended wing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My human probably interpreted something wrong. That happens all the time with humans… </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Hiccup said, “Toothless, no! I think I need some space for today.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless knew for a fact that his human was lying to him. His body began to smell of guilt and sadness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sadness?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Toothless thought to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why would my human smell sad? That Bludvist guy was defeated, Berk is safe now. So, what’s ailing my human? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, an idea jumped into Toothless’s head. Running over to his human, Toothless pushed his flat head into Hiccup’s chest gently, wrapping his paws around the boy and letting out gentle croons and coos to reassure his human. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m here, my Hiccup. You’re safe with me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless expected his human to relax into the embrace, maybe place a paw on Toothless’s back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless didn’t expect his human to recoil from his body, the reaction akin to a dragon seeing an eel. Hiccup slowly backed away from him, one paw extended in front of him similar to the method he uses to calm wild dragons. As Toothless walked closer, he saw the paw shaking slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What’s wrong, my Hiccup? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless thought, crooning softly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I won’t hurt you. You know you can tell me anything, right? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless decided to try again and placed his head closer to press against Hiccup’s shaking paw. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Snapped out of the trance, Hiccup stared at him, eyes wide. But instead of accepting the gesture of affection, Hiccup bolted to the other side of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Toothless, b-bud, j-j-just stay away from me!” his human yelled, salty water leaking from his eyes, before opening the door and bolting away from the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shocked, Toothless stared at the quickly retreating figure of his human. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Something’s going on with my Hiccup. And I’m going to find out what. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logically, Hiccup knew that the voice in his head that was constantly feeding him negative thoughts was wrong. He knew that the dream was just a dream and that the events of that dream would hopefully never come to pass. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the rest of his mind disagreed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sitting at his desk for hours until his lower body ached, he analyzed the dream from head to toe, trying to find the meager positives. He tried to convince himself that with the knowledge he had, he wouldn’t let Berk and the dragons experience the hell that they had to go through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His conflicting thoughts battled in his head for days on end, until he finally succumbed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless is the alpha dragon, the last of his kind. He’s destined to do great things for dragonkind. He doesn’t deserve to be shackled to a useless runt like me!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to set Toothless free. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Because I love him, and I don’t want him to suffer. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that thought, Hiccup ran to the forge. He had a device to build. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless knew something was up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For days on end, his Hiccup was wrecked with sadness and guilt. After the infamous rejection of physical contact, Toothless never touched his human, and they both were showing touch-starvation symptoms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My human must be making me a gift! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless rationalized. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s why he’s feeling so tired and nervous! No matter what it is, I’ll accept it, and later, we can go flying and cuddle each other!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a bang of the door, his human came out from the forge, carrying a black roll-like bundle. Something about that bundle looked oddly </span>
  <em>
    <span>familiar </span>
  </em>
  <span>to Toothless, but he couldn’t place it. Curious, Toothless let out a questioning croon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, this bud? It’s a surprise! Turn around, please!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless obliged, interest piqued regarding the bundle his human was holding. Hiccup sat on his tail and held up the bundle to the sky. Toothless turned his head back for a brief second, and his blood grew cold. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s the Hel-damned TAILFIN! I thought I destroyed that monstrosity 5 years ago! How did Hiccup find it?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Angered, Toothless growled, slightly shifting his tail away from the cursed fake-fin, hoping to prevent the trash-fin from touching his beautiful living fin. Sadly for him, his Hiccup had grown stronger from their fateful meeting five years ago, and was easily able to keep the rebellious tail in place and attach the tailfin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What are you doing, Hiccup? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless growled, eyeing the fake-fin with concealed disgust. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, this might seem sudden, but I thought you might need the auto-tail… to do…” his human hesitated for a second before continuing, “... tricks! Yeah, to do tricks!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless growled. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop lying, silly human! Why did you put this Thor-damned piece of shit on my tail! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless brought the tail in front of his human’s face. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We both agreed that we would be better together than apart! Why, my Hiccup? Why? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless placed his head on Hiccup’s paw slowly to reiterate his message. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup pulled away from his head, salty water dripping from his eyes, before saying in a small voice, “Because I’m holding you back too much! I’m being selfish, keeping you tethered to me forever, and I realized my mistake! So here Toothless, go free and live your life!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless growled threateningly at his human. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Whatever came out of your mouth is pure bullshit, you hear me Hiccup! </span>
  </em>
  <span>he exclaimed, vigorously shaking his tail to remove the cursed device. To his horror, </span>
  <em>
    <span>the tail wouldn’t come off! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Quickly charging a powerful plasma blast, he tried to burn the tail off, only for it to remain undamaged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The goddamn clusterfuck is FIREPROOF!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless pointed his fiercest glare at his human. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How dare you! Don’t you remember Snoggletog 5 years ago? Don’t you remember how I chose you over freedom? How could you forget that? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless bumped his head against Hiccup’s chest. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You and me, we stick together to the end. You heard that, foolish human? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, his human’s scent changed from nervousness to that scent of those spices Traitor Johann would bring. The scent that would always linger on his boy’s sire after a long day of ruling over the villagers. The scent </span>
  <em>
    <span>of anger. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO ISN’T THANKFUL, USELESS REPTILE! I MADE YOU THAT TAIL SO THAT YOU CAN GO FREE! YOU DESERVE TO HAVE A LIFE OUTSIDE OF BERK, OUTSIDE OF ME! I’M JUST HOLDING YOU BACK FROM REACHING YOUR FULL POTENTIAL! GO, TOOTHLESS! GO! BE FREE OF ME!” his human screamed, panting in exertion by the end of his tirade. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fine then! Fine by me! If you don’t want me, I’ll go! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless said, letting out a loud growl at </span>
  <strike>
    <span>his human</span>
  </strike>
  <span> Hiccup before leaving. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a mighty flap of his wings, Toothless hovered off the cliff, ready to leave. Looking back for a brief second, he saw a sight that would haunt him for years to come. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His human, salty water glimmering in his eyes, body shaking in order to resist the urge to cry. Toothless made to fly back and reassure his human, before catching sight of the monstrosity-tail. The device his human made him because </span>
  <em>
    <span>he didn’t want him anymore. </span>
  </em>
  <span>With a roar of anger, Toothless flew further. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hiccup, don’t you know that I love you and will always stay by your side?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless flew in the sky aimlessly, looking for a good place to land and give his aching wings a break. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally, when his human got into arguments with him, Toothless would hide out in the forest for a few hours, before returning back to the Haddock house to reconcile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the situation was different. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My human left me. My human didn’t want me. My human hates me now. Why else would Hiccup, the kindest human in Berk, decide to leave me?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Flying over Berk </span>
  <em>
    <span>(</span>
  </em>
  <strike>
    <em>
      <span>his home</span>
    </em>
  </strike>
  <em>
    <span> former home</span>
  </em>
  <span>), Toothless made a decision. He banked right towards the forest, to the one place on Berk where he felt free. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The place where he made the greatest friend in his life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cove. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s been two days since Toothless left, and Hiccup wasn’t feeling any better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was feeling worse.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How did Other Me do it? How did Other Me let go of </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> his best friend with a smile? </span>
  </em>
  <span>he pondered, sitting on his bed, unable to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At heart, Hiccup knew Toothless would be his friend no matter what. At heart, he knew that making the auto-tail to give to Toothless was wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Try telling that to my brain, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hiccup snarked to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As part of his heir training, Hiccup had been introduced to all types of people and situations. Under the careful guidance of his father (</span>
  <em>
    <span>oh, and it hurts his heart to think of courageous Stoick the Vast</span>
  </em>
  <span>), he learned the delicate art of battle strategy through Maces and Talons. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was facing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Going through that dream did </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> to him. It’s been affecting the way he thinks, the way he walks, the way he carries himself. He doesn’t know what it’s called, but it makes him feel worthless. It makes him feel like</span>
  <em>
    <span> something’s wrong with him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup shook his head, trying to get rid of the compressing feeling in his chest. Grabbing a cloak off a hook, he set outside, heading north to the one place that felt like home. The one place where he could let go of everything and be himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Cove. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup slid down the steep incline leading to the entrance of the Cove. As he slid, thoughts flew through his head, as swift as Toothless’s wings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless… He saved me when I got kidnapped. He was willing to kill for me, spend his last days with me. And what did I do? I sent him away! For what, a measly dream? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hiccup thought to himself. Stepping over a loose rock, Hiccup enters the cove…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only to be met with the head of an angry Night Fury. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-Hey bud…” Hiccup says hesitantly, body flinching away from the enraged dragon. Green eyes met green slits, the two beings staring at each other without blinking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hiccup didn’t know what to do. He expected Toothless to plasma blast him dead, burn his bridges before leaving to find that white Night Fury. He didn’t expect Toothless to stare at him, eyes dilated, with that look that </span>
  <em>
    <span>always gets Hiccup to spill the beans no matter what.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“T-Toothless… I’m so sorry, bud! Please forgive me!” Hiccup exclaimed, before collapsing to the ground, head over knees, and burst into tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know how long he was crying for. Hiccup raised his head, expecting to meet an angry Night Fury, but was met with a flat head bumping into his chest, forcing him down onto the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless huffed a breath of hot air before placing his head over Hiccup’s heart. With every beat of Hiccup’s heart, the Night Fury let out a small whuff of breath. Boy and dragon sat there together, nonverbally comforting each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After what seemed like an eternity, the Night Fury lifted his head from his human’s body, softly purring with his eyes dilated. Hiccup extended a hand and turned his head away, and the dragon met it with his own snout. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Boy and dragon, together at last. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless sat back down on his bottom triumphantly. His human, </span>
  <em>
    <span>obviously realizing his mistakes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>gave him the rightful apology he deserved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But, Toothless knew his human was still hiding something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless pressed his head into his human’s arm and crooned gently, before making a small questioning chirp. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s bothering you, my Hiccup? I’ll always be here for you, no matter what!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bud, do you want me to tell you what’s been bothering me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless nodded his head frantically, wrapping his tail around his human possessively and bringing him closer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re one amazing dragon, you know that bud? No matter what I’ll do, I’ll never deserve you. You’re perfect,” his human said mournfully. Toothless extended his tongue and prepared to give his human another lesson in friendship, but his human continued by saying, “And that’s okay, bud.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Seeing his human glimmer with realization made Toothless happy. The Night Fury crooned softly, before nudging his Hiccup’s arm, reminding him of Toothless’s unanswered question. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok bud, I’ll tell you what’s going on.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a deep breath, his human started talking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Other Toothless ran to the edge of the cliff and then glides down to the forest.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh, bud? Wha-? Yeah, sure, don't bother to wait for us,” The Other Hiccup sighed. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>In the forest, Toothless wanders around searching for something. He walks further and further into the forest until he spots a white Night Fury laying down in a part of the forest. The dragon turns around and spots Toothless, growling at him. Toothless gets scared but then walks closer to the dragon. They stare at each other until a snap is heard and the dragon shoots a plasma blast at a tree. Hiccup and Astrid arrive at the forest. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, my gods!” Hiccup exclaimed. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The dragon growls at Hiccup and Astrid.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh, Hiccup!” Astrid helpfully yelled. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The dragon shoots a plasma blast at them, but Astrid manages to push Hiccup out of the way of the blast and they get thrown far but still survive the blast. The dragon is about to shoot another plasma blast but Toothless stops her.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah. You know, we're friends! No need to kill us,” Hiccup says. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Light Fury gets scared and flies away from them. Toothless tries to follow her by climbing the trees. But then the dragon fires a plasma blast and flies through it, turning invisible, also making Toothless sad. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>---</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Woah! Hold up, Toothless!” The Other Hiccup exclaimed. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Other Toothless, very excited, looks in all directions searching for the Light Fury.  Hiccup looks behind and spots the Light Fury.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, look who it is!” Hiccup states joyfully. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Light Fury flies down in a rage.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Light Fury grabbed Hiccup in her small paws. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Aah! Hey. It's really nice to finally-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Light Fury throws Hiccup away and he falls down in the sky.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Waaaaaah!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Light Fury looks at Toothless triumphantly. Toothless gave her an awkward smile before diving down. The Light Fury looks stunned. Toothless saves Hiccup and flies back with the others.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Not a word.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless looks at the sky, trying to see if the Light Fury is there again but she isn't, which makes him sad.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>---</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You're right, bud. It's time,” The Other Hiccup says. “I was so busy fighting for a world that I wanted, I didn't think about what you needed,” Hiccup said somberly, looking at the Light Fury.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You've looked after us for long enough. Time to look after yourselves. Go on, bud. Lead them to the Hidden World. You'll be safe there. Safer than you could ever be with me. It's okay,” Hiccup said, placing his head on Toothless' head. I love you too. And I want you to be free. Our world doesn't deserve you... yet.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Toothless hugs Hiccup.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Go, Toothless. Go.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hiccup places his hand on Toothless' snout and then moves his hand away from Toothless. Hiccup nods and then Toothless roars, followed by all the dragons on the island. The Light Fury flies off the island to the Hidden World first, followed by the other dragons except Toothless. Toothless turns his head to Hiccup who nods and then he flies off the island with the other dragons. The Riders walk to Hiccup as he smiles at the dragons.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless couldn’t believe what he was hearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>So you’re telling me, according to my wonderful human’s dream, in under a year, the Mighty Toothless Night Fury, Alpha of Berk’s Dragons, will become a dumbass who’s horny for a glittery piece of termite-infested wood! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless growled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rage empowered Toothless’s senses. Quickly, the dragon powered plasma blasts and shot them at a nearby piece of rock. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How. Dare. They. Do. This. To. Me. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sadly to say, the rock did not survive the might of an angry Night Fury. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“T-Toothless…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Toothless turned his head around to see Hiccup, who was shaking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anger forgotten, Toothless ran over to his human, reassuring him with croons and nuzzles. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hiccup, I understand now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless crooned, nuzzling Hiccup with his head while wrapping a paw around his human’s back. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I forgive you, silly human. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bud, don’t you get it! We’re going to be forced apart in a year! It’s inevitable!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> get it, my Hiccup! We now know one path of our future! Granted, it’s not the best, but we now know what to do! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless lectured, using claw drawings, body gestures, and croons to deliver his message. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If we make sure to prevent these mistakes, we’ll make sure that this never happens again and that we don’t separate!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup laughed, salty water flowing from his eyes. “You’re one smart dragon, bud,” he said, scratching the dragon for a brief moment before stopping abruptly and staring into his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His human stared for a long time, eyes roving over every part of Toothless’s body, before speaking, “I can’t believe you forgave me, Toothless.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Toothless could react, Hiccup continued, “I sent you away… and you came back for me… even when I yelled at you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His human paused for a second and took a deep breath before continuing, “Bud, what I’m trying to say… is that… </span>
  <em>
    <span>I love you. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I always have, no matter what.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless froze. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My human loves me. My human loves me!</span>
  </em>
  <span> The dragon wrapped his tail around Hiccup and brought him into his paws and wings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“B-Bud, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what are you doing?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless crooned softly, bringing his human’s body closer to him to bestow the boy with affection. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I love you too, my Hiccup. And until I die, I’ll always stay by your side. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>---</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toothless released a plasma blast, lighting up the Haddock house's central fireplace with the warmth of fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready, bud?” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Never been more prepared, my Hiccup!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Toothless wiggled his body in joy, carrying the eel-damned tailfin in his maw. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s do this,” Hiccup declared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With vindictive pleasure, Toothless dropped the tailfin into the fire, where it shriveled and burned to ash. Toothless began extending his wings to extinguish the fire before his human exclaimed, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toothless, leave the fire for a second. I need to get something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hiccup ran up the stairs and rummaged for a second before bringing down a stack of papers. Toothless let out a chirp. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What are those, Hiccup?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh these, bud? These are the armor designs that showed up in my dream. The same ones.” </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But why are you destroying them, my Hiccup? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Toothless asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because, they remind me too much of The Dream. They didn’t even work as well as my old flight suit anyways!” Hiccup said, before chucking them into the fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the remnants of The Dream burned to ashes in the flames, the scrawny human and the flightless dragon stood together, side by side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Dream was meant to ruin our lives, to encourage the separation between dragons and humans. But we won’t let that happen. Together, we’ll change the world. One day, we’ll create the first dragon-human utopia together -- hopefully without any clusterfucked buildings. </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
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